1. Field of the Invention
The present invention broadly relates to providing emergency services (e.g., the police services) to the public, and more particularly, to a system and method of providing emergency services wherein the emergency service provider (e.g., the police) gets control of one or more monitoring devices in the vicinity of a user requesting emergency help.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 1 illustrates a typical prior art emergency reporting arrangement using a telephone 10. A person or user 12 in need of emergency help dials a designated emergency reporting number (e.g., xe2x80x98911xe2x80x99) to connect to an emergency service center (ESC) 14. The emergency service center 14 may be a 911-response center, a police station, a hospital, a fire station, a combination of these places or any other location equipped for dispatching emergency relief. A carrier network 16 may electrically connect the telephone 10 to a receiving apparatus (e.g., an operator headset receiver) at the ESC 14. The carrier network 16 may include, individually or in combination, the plain old telephone system (POTS), the more advanced public switched telephone network (PSTN), or a wireless communication network (e.g., a cellular telephone network) when the telephone 10 is, for example, a cellular phone (xe2x80x9ccell phonexe2x80x9d).
Instead of dialing all the digits contained in the designated emergency reporting number (e.g., xe2x80x989xe2x80x99, xe2x80x981xe2x80x99, xe2x80x981xe2x80x99), a user may instead xe2x80x9cspeed dialxe2x80x9d the number by programming a single key on the telephone 10. In this manner, the user need not press individual digits of the phone number, but, instead, may need to press only a pre-marked speed dial key. Some modern cell phones come equipped with a xe2x80x9cbuttonxe2x80x9d or key on their keypads that is dedicated to dial a predetermined emergency phone number (e.g., xe2x80x98911xe2x80x99).
Thus, typically, the user 12 requests emergency help over the phone 10. When the user 12 dials the emergency phone number (e.g., xe2x80x98911xe2x80x99), an operator at the ESC 14 answers the phone and asks the user 12 to state the user""s name, the address or place of the emergency, the nature of the emergency, the cause of the problem, etc. In response, the user 12 has to provide the requested information in sufficient detail so as to enable the emergency service personnel to locate the user and the place of the emergency and also to come prepared to the emergency location depending on the nature of the emergency. For example, in case of a robbery, the user 12 may need to inform the operator at the ESC 14 of the seriousness of the emergency so that the police or other emergency service personnel may arrive at the place of trouble with adequate safety measures in place.
However, it is easily observed that the user 12 may not always be able to adequately describe the user""s vicinity during the emergency. For example, in the robbery situation described above, the user may not be in a safe position to talk at length (about the robbery) over the phone 10 or, alternatively, the user 12 may simply be so dumbfounded by the chain of events as to not be able to effectively narrate the urgency of the situation or of the surroundings to the ESC 14 operator. The user may not even be physically capable of narrating the user""s vicinity, for example, when the user suffers a heart attack and wishes just to inform the emergency service provider (e.g., the police or the hospital) of the user""s condition without further discussion or details.
The user 12 may have one or more monitoring devices (not shown) in the user""s vicinity or in the user""s household or dwelling 17 to record or monitor certain situations. For example, the user 12 may be wearing a monitor/transmitter that can record and transmit (upon request) the user""s current blood pressure. Alternatively, the user 12 may have a video camera in the user""s vicinity which, when activated, may record and transmit visual images depicting the user""s surroundings at the time of the camera activation, thereby providing the viewer with a visual description of the user""s vicinity. For example, in a robbery situation, the video camera may capture and transmit the images of the events occurring in the user""s vicinity. These events may include the act of robbery, the physical looks/descriptions and location (if possible) of the robber and any accomplices, the extent of physical injury to the user or any other party, the location of any exit route or stairways in the building, etc.
However, many monitoring devices may not be already active at the time of emergency, and must be activated by the user or someone else before any condition in the user""s vicinity can be monitored. Furthermore, in many emergency situations (e.g., under threat of physical safety or under an onset of a life-threatening emergency), the user may not be physically capable of accessing the monitoring device to activate it, even if the user wishes to do so. Also, the user 12 may not even be able to speak or narrate his/her emergency situation when connected to the operator at the ESC 14. Additionally, the ESC 14 may have a finite number of incoming telephone lines. In that situation, because of the circuit-switched nature of telephone communications, the person placing the emergency call may end up receiving a line xe2x80x9cbusyxe2x80x9d signal instead of an operator""s voice. In other words, the ESC 14 may not immediately attend to the user""s phone call in the event of a large number of distress calls to the ESC 14. This may not be desirable, especially when the caller""s situation demands prompt and instant attention.
It is therefore desirable for an emergency service provider to be able to remotely control one or more monitoring devices in the user""s vicinity when the user sends an emergency help request. Such an arrangement allows for better monitoring of the user""s vicinity in an emergency situation without the need for prolonged user participation in narrating or describing the emergency situation. Further, the emergency service provider may obtain a better picture of the emergency and its impact by controlling appropriate monitoring devices available in the user""s vicinity. The availability of modern high-speed data processors and the continually growing popularity of the Internet make it desirable to perform remote monitoringxe2x80x94including activation and deactivation of various monitoring devicesxe2x80x94of an emergency condition using the Internet or other IP (Internet Protocol) network. It may also be desirable for the emergency service provider to offer a subscription-based or usage-based emergency monitoring service.
The present invention contemplates a method of monitoring the vicinity of a user requesting emergency help. The method comprises receiving an emergency help request from the user; and remotely controlling one or more monitoring devices in the user""s vicinity in response to the emergency help request from the user. The monitoring devices may include a number of multimedia instruments such as a telephone with an answering machine, a computer with a built-in digital camera, a video recording device, a cellular phone with an integrated digital camera, etc. The emergency help request from the user is received at an emergency service center (ESC) which then establishes an individual communication session with each monitoring device to receive the monitored information therefrom. The ESC may determine what parameters (e.g., sight, sound, blood pressure, heart rate, etc.) a monitoring device can monitor, the type of the monitored information (audio information, video information, etc.), and the form (data packets, analog signals, etc.) in which the monitored information is available from the monitoring device.
In one embodiment, the ESC may remotely query each monitoring device to determine what capabilities that device has. Based on the determination of the device capabilities, the ESC may then remotely activate the appropriate monitoring device to obtain the information needed to allow the ESC personnel to prepare the best possible response to tackle the emergency at hand. The information about device capabilities may be obtained from a database within the ESC. Alternatively, the queried device may send a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) address for a web site from which the ESC can obtain pertinent device-specific information.
The present invention also contemplates a system for monitoring the vicinity of a user requesting emergency help. The system comprises one or more monitoring devices installed in the vicinity of the user, wherein at least one of the one or more monitoring devices is configured to transmit an emergency help request from the user; and an emergency service center (ESC) in communication with the one or more monitoring devices, wherein the ESC is configured to receive the emergency help request and to remotely control the one or more monitoring devices in response thereto. The ESC may be connected to the monitoring devices via a carrier network, which may include, individually or in combination, the plain old telephone system (POTS), the more advanced public switched telephone network (PSTN), or a wireless communication network (e.g., a cellular telephone network), depending on the type of monitoring device communicating with the ESC. The ESC may also communicate with a monitoring device via the Internet.
The present invention further contemplates a method of providing emergency services. The method comprises offering a fee-based emergency monitoring service (EMS); receiving an emergency help request from a subscriber of the EMS; and remotely controlling one or more monitoring devices in the subscriber""s vicinity in response to the emergency help request from the subscriber. A provider of the EMS may initially receive the monitored data from the remote monitoring devices, and may then transfer the data to an emergency service center (ESC) serving the region in which the subscriber""s household is located. Thus, the EMS provider may act as an intermediary between the subscriber and the ESC. In an alternative arrangement, the ESC may itself be the EMS provider.
The remote activation of the monitoring devices and the remote reception of the monitored information sent by the monitoring devices enable emergency service personnel to plan an appropriate response to the emergency at hand. Such an arrangement allows for better monitoring of the user""s vicinity in an emergency situation without the need for prolonged user participation in narrating or describing the emergency situation. Further, an emergency service provider may obtain a better picture of the emergency and its impact by controlling appropriate monitoring devices available in the user""s vicinity. The remote monitoring of the user""s vicinity at the time of emergency is also useful to expeditiously gauge the severity of the emergency, and, hence, to prepare an adequate response to help the user in need of emergency assistance.